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Severe Drought In Italy: Characteristics, Impacts, And Mitigation Strategies, Giuseppe Rossi, Francesca Somma

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Following the severe drought event that occurred in Italy in 1988–90, the Italian Department of Civil Protection published a report, Drought in Italy 1988–90 (in Italian; edited by G. Rossi and G. Margaritora), containing a comprehensive description of the drought event, its impacts, and the mitigation measures adopted in the most affected regions.

Since the beginning of the drought, the Department promoted and coordinated a number of initiatives, aiming mainly to mitigate domestic and agricultural water shortages. The Department also formed a drought committee, which included representatives of various government agencies (in charge of hydrometeorological data collection and water supply …

Long-Range Forecasts Of Southwest Monsoon Rainfall Explored For India, J. B. Singh, R. P. Singh

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Southwest monsoon rainfall (received during June–September) determines the fate of millions of dryland farmers as well as the status of national food security in India almost every year. The need for information about southwest monsoon rainfall is great in these areas. An accurate long-range forecast can help farmers increase agricultural productivity in good rainfall years and negate the sudden downturns in agricultural production during anticipated drought years by giving farmers sufficient time to adopt drought-resistant crop varieties and appropriate crop, soil, and water management practices. The India Meteorological Department is now able to make all-India long-range forecasts of southwest monsoon …

The Role Of Drought In Determining The Reserve Water Sector In Israel, J. A. Allan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought is a compelling environmental phenomenon. Drought is also an extremely important feature of the political economies of dry regions. This study will emphasize the political significance of drought. Droughts, and especially protracted drought, send much stronger signals about water availability to a much more comprehensively diverse range of water interests than any other single political factor or any combination of factors operating in a political economy. Drought affects water users as well as those involved at all levels in water allocation, water legislation, and water policy development and implementation. Natural systems decree that water shortages have to be endured. …

Queensland Drought Enters Its Fifth Year, Gary Bacon

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The worst ENSO drought event to affect the state of Queensland this century has entered its fifth year. The drought, which commenced in March 1991, reached its maximum coverage in December 1993, when 51% of the state’s 1.7 million square kilometers were officially drought-declared. Currently, 41 full shires (local authority areas) and five part shires comprising more than 20,000 individual rural properties and covering 37% of the state are drought-declared.

Five-Year Drought Continues In Spain, Antonio Mestre Barcelo

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Spain is now facing its fifth consecutive year of severe drought. This event, which began in 1990, affects most of the country, with the exception of the north coast regions. The most affected regions are Andalucía, Extremadura, and Castilla–la Mancha, all of them located in the southern half of Spain. In some climatological stations of these areas, the five-year agricultural period from 1 September 1990 to 31 August 1995 is the driest quinquennium of this century. Mean percentage departures from normal rainfall exceed -20% in the southern half of the country and in some isolated areas of the Duero and …

Worsening Drought Conditions Affect Relay Cropping In Central India, J. L. Chaudhary, A. S. R. A. S. Sastri, D. Naidu, S. K. Srivastava

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

In the Chhattisgarh region of central India (Figure 1), rice is grown on about 3.7 million ha, of which 80% is under rainfed conditions. The rice crop is grown mostly under the broadcast biasi system of cultivation (see Drought Network News, Vol. 5, No. 3 [October 1993], pp. 6–7). The rainy season is the southwest monsoon (June–September) season. Farmers grow traditional local tall varieties of rice, which flower in mid-October and mature by mid- November.

El Niño’S Effect On Southwest Monsoon Rainfall In Andhra Pradesh, India, U. S. Victor, N. N. Srivastava, A. V. M. Subba Rao, B. V. Ramana Rao

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

India is primarily an agricultural country, despite making rapid strides in industrialization in recent decades. The Indian economy is therefore highly dependent on the behavior of the summer monsoon, also known as the southwest monsoon, which occurs during four months (June–September). This accounts for 75% of the annual rainfall over most parts of the country and also generates great demand for rainfall forecasts in different time scales. For nearly a century, Indian meteorologists have been attempting to develop suitable techniques that could be used for preparing long-range forecasts of monsoon rains over India. Walker (1923) has done pioneering work in …

Coping With Exceptional Droughts In Australia, David H. White, Bruce O'Meagher

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The objectives of Australia’s National Drought Policy (NDP), agreed to by Commonwealth (national), state, and territory ministers in 1992, are to:

• encourage primary producers and other sections of rural Australia to adopt self-reliant approaches to managing the risks stemming from climatic variability;
• maintain and protect Australia’s agricultural and environmental resource base during periods of extreme climate stress; and
• ensure early recovery of agricultural and rural industries consistent with long-term sustainable levels.

Under the NDP, Australian farmers are expected to assume greater responsibility for managing the risks arising from climatic variability. This requires integrating financial and business management …

Book Review: Quaternary Geology And Geomorphology Of South America By C. Clapperton, William J. Wayne

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Dr. Clapperton is to be commended for having taken on the monumental task of a review of the present state of knowledge of the Quaternary of the entire continent of South America. Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of South America is a massive, interestingly written, but expensive volume that covers exactly what its title suggests. In spite of the paucity of information on many aspects of the Quaternary geology of this continent, which extends from north of the equator nearly to the Antarctic, the author has succeeded in reviewing and synthesizing most of the material that does exist. To do so …

Drought In The Lower Danube, Ekaterina Koleva

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Bulgaria is situated on the Balkan Peninsula. Its northern frontier is the lower part of the Danube. The Balkan range, with its zonal situation, is part of a natural climatic frontier, dividing Bulgaria into two parts—north and south.

One of the main features of the climate in the Danube Plain (northern Bulgaria) is insufficient precipitation—a tendency toward dryness and frequent droughts. The annual amount of precipitation is 500–600 mm. The highest monthly values are measured in June (in some places in May), with 55–75 mm. February (in some places, March) is the driest month. Absence of precipitation can occur in …

Summer Drought Ravages Crops In Middle China, Huajie Tai

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought affected China’s agricultural production in spring, summer, and fall 1994. The summer drought was very severe in the middle part of China, especially in Anhui and Jiansu provinces.

Relating United States Crop Land Use To Natural Resources And Climate Change, K. G. Hubbard, F. J. Flores-Mendoza

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Crop production depends not only on the yield but also on the area harvested. The yield response to climate change has been widely examined, but the sensitivity of crop land use to hypothetical climate change has not been examined directly. Crop land-use regression models for estimating crop area indices (CAIs) - the percent of land used for corn, soybean, wheat, and sorghum production - are presented. Inputs to the models include available water-holding capacity of the soil, percent of land available for rain-fed agricultural production, annual precipitation, and annual temperature. The total variance of CAI explained by the models ranged …

Drought Vulnerability Of Rainfed Crops In Semiarid Tropics In India: New Methods Of Determining Rainfall Variability, U. S. Victor, N. N. Srivastava, P. Vijay Kumar

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

In dryland areas of India, rainfall is the main source of water for raising crops. For these areas, the greatest problem is not water shortage per se, but rather the tremendous variability in rainfall from year to year and season to season. In planning for the coming season, we currently have little or no ability to predict the date of the onset of rains or their amount, distribution, or duration. However, uncertainty about rainfall is lessened when information is available concerning the possible variability and frequencies of historical occurrences of rainfall. This information can be obtained by coupling water use …

Rainfall Patterns For India’S Karnataka State Show Above-Normal Precipitation For 1994-98, M. B. Rajegowda, D. M. Gowda

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The Karnataka state, confined roughly within 11.5° N and 18.5° N latitude and 74° E and 78.5° E longitude, is situated on a table land at the point where the western and eastern Ghat range enclose the Nilgiri hill complex. It is enclosed by chains of mountains to its west, east, and south. The state consists mainly of plateau, with a higher elevation of 600 to 900 m amsl in small portions of the extreme north and northwest Karnataka and the whole of the southern half, an elevation of 300 to 600 m amsl in the north, and an elevation …

Drought Profile: Haryana State In North India, K. Kailasa Nathan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Haryana state is considered the breadbasket of India, along with the Punjab state. The effects of drought (and mitigation of those effects) are therefore of considerable importance for the state. This article considers the state’s drought “profile” through a study of six drought years in Haryana.

Haryana has a semiarid climate in the southwest and a Gangetic plain environment in the rest of the state. About 50% of the state has a moisture deficit. One of the reasons for adverse crop production in the state during June–September is the early withdrawal or late onset of monsoon rains, which contribute nearly …

Droughts Over Homogeneous Regions Of India: 1871–-1990, B. Parathasarathy, A. A. Munot, D. R. Kothawale

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The summer monsoon (June through September), or southwest seasonal rains, contribute 78% of India’s annual rainfall. It is the greatest climatic water resource of India. The country’s agriculture and food production depend on these rains. Rainfed farming areas in India account for about 70% of the total arable land in the country, with nearly 100 million ha depending on the monsoon rains. The rains also contribute to power generation and industrial production.

Hydrometeorological Considerations For Rainwater Management During Drought Years In Peninsular India, J. B. Singh, B. V. Ramana Rao, J. C. Katyal

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Peninsular India is located in the tropics; its climate ranges from arid conditions in the rain shadow region (under the influence of Eastern Ghats along the east coast and Western Ghats along the west coast) to humid conditions in regions adjoining the west coast. The average annual rainfall in the region varies from about 500 mm in the interior parts to more than 3000 mm on the crest of Western Ghats. The rainy season commences during the month of June because of the onset of the southwest monsoon near the tip of peninsular India. The southwest monsoon ends during September. …

Drought And Southern Africa: A Note From The Harare Regional Drought Monitoring Centre, Leonard S. Uganai

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought is a normal part of southern Africa’s climate and one of the most important natural disasters in southern Africa. In fact, it is becoming increasingly unusual for drought not to occur somewhere in southern Africa each year. The dependence of most southern African economies on rainfed agriculture emphasizes the importance of drought early warning products for short- and long-term decision making in various sectors of the national economies of the region. Following the 1991–92 drought, which ravaged more than 80% of southern Africa, many in southern Africa now realize the value of meteorological information in weather-sensitive decisions. Requests for …

Drought In Beijing, 1992-93, Zhuang Xie, Dagang Chen

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Beijing, located in northeast China, has a semiarid monsoon climate, with summer rainfall providing about 70% of the annual precipitation. This climate is conducive to crop growth, although insufficient summer rainfall in 1992–93 caused reductions in crop yields. Normalized departures of monthly precipitation (DR/R%) are shown in Figure 1. Although some months show above-normal precipitation (for example, November 1992, with a rainfall amount [43.3 mm] 7.5 times the normal), rainfall for the 1993 growing period was marked by negative departures from normal. Of the months of the 1993 growing season, only July recorded above-normal rainfall. Precipitation departures in May, September, …

Drought Classifications And Crop Plans Developed For Tamilnadu, R. Kulandaivelu, K. Jayachandran

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought is defined as inadequate soil moisture to support crop growth and normal yield. The degree of drought for a given location depends on the crop, rainfall and its distribution, soil type, and various management practices. Drought occurs frequently in Tamilnadu—some part of the state experiences drought every year.

The state of Tamilnadu is located in the southernmost tip of peninsular India. It lies between 8°5" and 13°35" latitude north and 76°15" and 80°20" longitude east, covering an area of 0.13 million km2 and including a long coastline (about 1,000 km). The mean annual rainfall is 945 mm, with 45 …

Drought Monitoring And Advisory Services In South Africa, M. V. Laing

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The normal total rainfall for the summer rainfall areas in South Africa is 664 mm. Since 1963, the country has recorded 16 seasons below normal and 14 above normal. Since the 1982–83 season, 7 seasons have been below normal and 4 have been above normal. Of these last 11 years, two rainy seasons recorded less than 75% of normal rainfall, which is a coarse estimation of severe drought. These seasons were 1982–83, when an average total of only 408 mm was measured, and 1992–93, when the average total was 484 mm. Although 1991–92 has been called the worst drought this …

Persistent Drought In 1993 Affects Bulgarian Agriculture, Nikola Slavov, Vesselin Alexandrov

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The drought of 1992 persisted through the winter of 1993 (see Drought Network News, Vol. 5, No. 2 [June 1993]:12-15). Figure 1 shows the monthly values of national rainfall in 1993 and their normal averages. National rainfall was 28% and 63%, respectively, of the mean during January and February 1993. During March, rainfall was about normal, but drought conditions persisted because of the rainfall deficit from the summer of 1992. Water supplies increased until 20 April 1993, but after this date, drought conditions returned. At the end of April, the soil moisture in the 0-20 cm layer was 10- 25 …

Economic Impacts Emphasize Need For Greater Drought Planning And Management In El Salvador, Lidia Castillo

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

In terms of drought management and preparedness, El Salvador is one of the most underdeveloped countries. Although the direct and indirect effects of drought are often costly for the country, no official drought policy exists. One of the most important direct effects of drought is the loss of high percentages of basic grains (beans, corn, rice, and a type of sorghum called maicillo); these grains (except for maicillo) form the basic diet. Among the indirect effects of drought is the reduction of national production as an effect of electric power rationing due to drought and sabotage of the national electric …

Probable Glacial Climatic Conditions In Source Areas During Deposition Of Parts Of The Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group (Late Tertiary), Of Western Nebraska, Patricia E. Helland, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

Evidence of the climatic conditions in the mountain sediment source areas for the late Tertiary Ash Hollow Formation of the Ogallala Group in western Nebraska has been sought in an SEM (scanning electron microscope) study of surface features on detrital quartz grains from these deposits. The following lines of indirect evidence raised the possibility of glacial conditions: uplift of up to 3500 m in the source areas, paleohydrologic parameters indicative of a transport system analogous to the modern North Saskatchewan River, and possible cold climate surface features on cobbles from the deposits. SEM analysis shows that five of the nine …

The Potential Effects Of Climate Change On Summer Season Dairy Cattle Milk Production And Reproduction, Peggy L. Klinedinst, Donald A. Wilhite, G. Leroy Hahn, Kenneth G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The potential direct effects of possible global warming on summer season dairy production and re-production were evaluated for the United States and Europe. Algorithms used for milk production and conception rate were previously developed and validated. Three widely known global circulation models (GISS, GFDL, and UKMO) were used to represent possible scenarios of future climate. Milk production and conception rate declines were highest under the UKMO model scenario and lowest under the GISS model scenario. Predicted declines for the GCM scenarios are generally higher than either “l year in 10” probability-based declines or declines based on the abnormally hot summer …

Global Snow Cover Monitoring: An Update, David A. Robinson, Kenneth F. Dewey, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Accurate monitoring of the large-scale dimensions of global snow cover is essential for understanding details of climate dynamics and climate change. Presently, such information is gathered individually from ground station networks and satellite platforms. Efforts are in progress to consolidate and analyze long-term station records from a number of countries. To gain truly global coverage, however, satellite-based monitoring techniques must be employed. A 27-year record of Northern Hemisphere continental snow cover produced by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the longest such environmental record available. Records of Southern Hemisphere continental cover and snow on top of …

Potential Impacts Of Biomass Production In The United States On Biological Diversity, James H. Cook, Jan Beyea, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Biomass could be a renewable source of energy and chemicals that would not add CO₂ to the atmosphere. It will become economically competitive as its cost decreases relative to energy costs, and biotechnology is expected to accelerate this trend by increasing biomass productivity. Pressure to slow global warming may also make biomass more attractive. Substantial dependence on biomass would entail massive changes in land use, risking serious reductions in biodiversity through destruction of habitat for native species. Forests could be managed and harvested more intensively, and virtually all arable land unsuitable for high-value agriculture or silviculture might be used …

Loss Of Biological Diversity: A Global Crisis Requiring International Solutions: A Report To The National Science Board, Craig Call Black, Perry L. Adkisson, Gardner Mallard Brown, Rita Rossi Colwell, Charles E. Hess, James B. Holderman, K. June Lindstedt-Siva, William A. Nierenberg, Peter Hamilton Raven, Theodore M. Smith, Edward O. Wilson, W. Franklin Harris

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Executive Summary

Biological diversity refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their relative frequency. For biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the chemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystems, species, genes, and their relative abundance (OTA, 1987).

There is an ongoing, unprecedented loss of the variety as well as absolute numbers of organisms-from the smallest microorganism to the largest and most spectacular of …

Drought Management: The Role Of Near- Real Time Weather Data, Donald A. Wilhite, Kenneth G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The ability to collect weather data in near-real time has improved because of technological advances, enabling weather data users to obtain more weather data over wider areas, and in a more timely fashion. The number of near-real time climate networks is increasing as new applications are found for climate data. More than fifteen states in the United States have established automated weather station networks. This paper presents an overview of recent developments in automated weather data collection in the United States and gives a detailed description of the network in Nebraska.

Near-real time weather data has many applications in agricultural …

Cropstatus--A Computer Program To Assess The Effects Of Seasonal Weather Changes On Nebraska's Agriculture, R. E. Neild, Donald A. Wilhite, K. G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

CROPSTATUS is a series of programs residing in Nebraska's AGNET system using daily weather data to assess seasonal changes in crops, livestock, and other agricultural conditions. Assessments are based on parameters developed from accumulations of current daily temperature and precipitation data collected from a network of synoptic, climate, and automated micrometeorological stations in Nebraska in comparison with daily normals. The daily normals were derived from monthly summaries using multiple regression models to compute daily values as a function of Julian day numbers. Crop phenology models based on growing degree days were used to monitor and forecast the progress of different …